


In Which Marinette Finds Out First--By Mistake

by KageSora



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Gen, Identity Reveal, Reveal, the adrinette is only like a line at the end mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-07 21:04:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12849504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KageSora/pseuds/KageSora
Summary: Fight the Akuma, run away to hide while his transformation wore off, return to his civilian life and claim to have been turned into a minion if anybody mentions his absence–it should have been routine.  It was routine.Until it wasn’t.Or, Adrien accidentally reveals himself and Marinette worries him for a week.





	In Which Marinette Finds Out First--By Mistake

**Author's Note:**

> An idea that popped into my head because I'm tired of "Marinette assumes he could only love Ladybug and not her" being the trope everywhere, when I think she'd be down to reveal if Tikki said go for it.

Fight the Akuma, run away to hide while his transformation wore off, return to his civilian life and claim to have been turned into a minion if anybody mentions his absence–it should have been routine.  It  _was_  routine.

Until it wasn’t.

Until Marinette, the shy classmate who tended to word-vomit in his vicinity and otherwise cease being able to function like a normal human for reasons he had yet to understand (and which asking about would get him sly looks from Alya and concerned looks from Nino), was there.

In the same empty classroom he dashed into as his transformation fell.  He didn’t really have time to wonder exactly what she was  _doing_  in that classroom, considering he skidded to a stop as a wash of green light ran over him and he stared at her wide eyes and gaping mouth.

He expected her to scream, or flail around, or anything.  What he hadn’t expected was the dead silence that slowly crept by, second by second, minute by minute, with no movement aside from her occasionally attempt at working her mouth mutely.

The last thing he needed was her to freak out on him, when she freaked out Alya tended to get involved and that  _could not happen_.  He liked Marinette, she was a friend, but he  _had_  to make sure that she understood that she couldn’t  _ever_  say anything.  He opened his mouth, began to make a sound that might have been her name, and fell silent as she wordlessly shook her head and held up a hand.

A moment later, when she spoke, gone was the stumbling over words, the stammering, the mixing up what she wanted to say.

“I’m gonna need time to process this.  We’re just gonna pretend this didn’t happen.”

He simply snapped his mouth shut and nodded furiously, glad that at least one of them managed to say something sensible (and marveling a little that it wasn’t him).

He stood still as she gathered herself up and strode past him without another glance, her face carefully blank and he felt something twist painfully inside his chest.   _Was she mad at him?  Disappointed?  Upset?  Something else entirely?_

He gave her a few minutes, slowly realizing that Plagg was oddly quiet during the entire exchange, and handing the kwami a piece of cheese.  Once Plagg was carefully hidden away in his jacket again, he cautiously left the classroom, nervously making his way back to class.

Marinette pretended she hadn’t even seen him enter.  He didn’t know what to make of that, or of the way it stung slightly.

He spent the rest of the day worrying over the problem and as soon as he was able to escape that evening he transformed and left several panicked messages for Ladybug.

The next day was even more concerning to him, as Marinette was  _on time_  for once, looking vaguely annoyed with something, and as he offered her a shy wave she simply blinked blankly at him, nodded once, and ignored him.

He didn’t know what to make of it.  Or of the way Alya looked between them, brows creasing in confusion and concern, and proceeded to spend the entire day furiously texting Marinette under their desk whenever the teachers weren’t looking their way.  He was aware of Nino watching with uncertainty.

There wasn’t an Akuma that day, thankfully.  Nor the next.  He didn’t know how that was happening, but he needed the break.  Marinette hadn’t interacted with him beyond the occasional nod to acknowledge his existence at all.

Alya, having clearly gotten nothing out of her best friend (for which he was eternally grateful) turned her attention to him, grilling him about what he’d said or done and he was almost entirely truthful in his assertions to both her and Nino that he didn’t have any idea what was wrong or what he’d done.

_She must really be disappointed?  Why else is she avoiding me?_

When the next akuma had attacked, Ladybug was different.  She didn’t banter, she didn’t quip, she was laser-focused and as soon as the battle was over she shook her head when he tried to speak.

“We can talk about those messages you left me later.  I’m not ready to talk about that now.”

_Ladybug must be so disappointed in me, with her striving for secrecy…  I’ve let her down so badly…_

Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face, because her expression softened a little.

“I’m not upset, kitty.  I just need a little time to deal with some stuff right now.”

He mutely nodded and watched her go, before scampering off and triple checking he was alone this time.  (Not that he’d had the  _chance_  to before, of course, but he still thought he should have managed somehow).

It wasn’t until a week later that he found out  _why_  Ladybug was acting strange, and exactly what had been going on with Marinette for that entire time.

* * *

While Adrien had been worrying over everything, Marinette had quietly gone home and screamed into her pillow, having her freak out in private.  Once she’d finished, she’d babbled to Tikki, trying to sort through everything and line up the images of Adrien and Chat in her mind.

With her eyes opened to the truth, it seemed like she should have seen it sooner.  Which added to her confused feelings, and led to more babbling at Tikki who simply let her ramble for several hours until she’d exhausted herself trying to wrap her mind around everything.

The only thing that Marinette was certain of was that she was glad her kitty was Adrien.  She decided the next day that she needed to keep her distance, to keep trying to sort her feelings out.

What Adrien couldn’t have known was that after a day or two she’d told Tikki she wanted to reveal herself–and had spent the next week arguing with her kwami over it.

Tikki insisted on secrecy, Marinette argued that she already knew so he might as well–and she  _wanted_  to tell him.  It was a long week with circular arguments that chased themselves late into the night and filled most of her free time.

In the end, Tikki had given up, reluctantly acknowledging that if Marinette was hell-bent on revealing herself there wasn’t really anything she could do to totally stop her.

Which is how Adrien ended up sitting in Marinette’s room at 1 in the morning after a text asking him to come and talk about what she’d seen.

And watching as she was replaced by Ladybug.

“I’m sorry it took so long, kitty.  My kwami was dead-set against me telling you…”

* * *

Alya had no idea what to make of it the next day when the pair showed up to class on time, holding hands, and  _kissed_.


End file.
